Ciro on Temer: "It's a case of us going there and setting it on fire, metaphorically or not."

By Francisco Toledo, from Democratize Agency

Increasingly present in the Brazilian political debate, the former governor of Ceará, Ciro Gomes (PDT), participated in the debate promoted by Agência Democratize at his birthday party, this Sunday (21) in São Paulo. The central theme of the conversation was the current Brazilian political situation — but there was room for other controversial issues.

The main one was the statement made by Ciro last week regarding Pedro Paulo's (PMDB) candidacy for mayor of Rio de Janeiro. The former governor had said that he had no problem with the PDT supporting the PMDB candidate in Rio, who was accused of assaulting his ex-wife.

“Back in Rio de Janeiro, I had different personal choices than this one [of supporting Pedro Paulo]. I'm friends with Molon (federal deputy and candidate for Rede). I have a long-standing and historical relationship with the PCdoB, I really like Jandira [federal deputy and candidate for PCdoB]. I dream of uniting the progressive field into a single front,” said Ciro.

However, regarding the choice made by the PDT in Rio, the former governor stated that he preferred to avoid an internal dispute and a party split, accepting the party's decision. "But the PDT, which has absolute relevance, opted for Pedro Paulo. Do you think I would play the purist, supporting a dissent within my seventh party?", he added.

But the current political situation was the central topic of the debate with Ciro Gomes this Sunday in São Paulo.

 

Photo: Wladimir Raeder/Democratize

Impeachment and Dilma

According to Ciro Gomes, Michel Temer's life will be anything but easy in the coming months — even if the impeachment process against Dilma is successful in the Federal Senate.

The former governor touched on several specific issues that could hinder the current interim president's political project, the main one being the austerity policy and how this could become a problem for civil society.

"The day after the impeachment, you'll see the mainstream media go after [the Temer government] to demand austerity from the government," said Ciro, regarding the role of the corporate mainstream media in the upcoming episodes of Brazilian politics.

"Paulo Skaf is going to take a lot of flak, because they [Temer's government] are going to propose tax increases. There's the CPMF, there's the CIDE. And even then, it will be very difficult to pass in Congress, because this Congress didn't vote in favor of Michel Temer, it voted against Dilma," concluded the former governor.

Another point defended by Ciro was the international context in the Brazilian political process. According to him, the new government should distance itself further from the developing countries that make up the BRICS, and this clearly demonstrates a "surrender" stance towards the policies advocated by the United States: "From the BRICS, for example, a regime of trade preferences could emerge for Brazil, giving the Brazilian economy and Brazilian entrepreneurs a consumer market of 3 billion people. Within the BRICS, there is the possibility of significant technological transfers to rapidly overcome certain technological lags, especially in military or communication technologies."

 

Photo: Alice V/Democratize

Still on the international theme, the issue of selling off public assets resurfaced, with the possibility of selling public property. “These scoundrels are getting ready to sell BR Distribuidora, which is the prime part of the business, the distribution. It's a case of us going there and setting it on fire, metaphorically or not, since there was no popular debate, for him—Temer—to make such a violent change in the country, without legitimacy,” he said about the bill currently being debated in the Federal Senate that could make the privatization and sale of Petrobras, Brazil's main state-owned company, possible.

When asked about Dilma Rousseff's merits in leading Brazil that led to her downfall at the hands of Congress, Ciro touched on some specific points.

The first was Dilma's ability to not directly influence Operation Lava Jato—that is, to allow the investigations to continue, even when central figures of the Workers' Party were directly affected. According to the former governor of Ceará, this was one of the main reasons that caused Dilma to lose support in Congress, especially in the Chamber of Deputies: "If the coup's agenda is these three hegemonic groups, the first major issue is that Dilma did not agree to make a deal to stop Lava Jato."

Another reason could have been Dilma's honesty, who, even having followed a path considered "wrong" in politics and economics, such as the appointment of Joaquim Levy to the Ministry of Finance in 2015, never demonstrated herself to be unworthy of holding the office of President of the Republic.

 

Photo: Wladimir Raeder/Democratize

Ciro in 2018?

To conclude the conversation, the question about the possibility of Ciro Gomes running for president of the Republic in the next elections, in 2018, was inevitable.

Unlike other statements this year, the former governor signaled for the first time his desire to occupy the most important office in the country — but not necessarily his intention to run for office.

“I can be a candidate for president of the Republic, or I can not. I didn’t want to be. I hadn’t run for election in 10 years. I came back into the fight because of this coup. I would consider myself a coward if I weren’t doing this,” he said at the beginning of the debate. However, the subject would return hours later, at the end of the event, after he was asked if he would like to be a candidate—and not necessarily whether he will be or not.

The former governor, who was a presidential candidate in 1998, ironically commented on a possible candidacy given the current Brazilian situation: "I would like to find a way to be president without having to be a candidate and go through elections," said Ciro Gomes, who was met with ironic shouts of "it's a coup!", referring to interim president Michel Temer, who is expected to hold the position permanently until 2019, should Dilma's impeachment be successful.